Kereone Club History
There has been some controversy as to when Kereone was officially established however in 1969 the decision was made that 1919 was Kereone’s foundation year as that was the year the Morrinsville Rugby Sub Union was formed and Kereone Club became an affiliated club.
The Kereone story began back with the returning soldiers that had settled in the Kereone/Kiwitahi area and looked to the sport of rugby for enjoyment. They had agreed on light blue for their playing colours but unfortunately in those times colour choices were limited and so green and white became the colours of Kereone. Rugby looked a lot different back then and with soldiers coming and going the team numbers fluctuated, however with a few key people involved, the club managed to continue on and grow towards the future. In 1921 they fielded their first junior team which helped to develop players and feed into the seniors when needed.
Over the next fifty years Kereone went on to field some very talented players who have gone on to become well known names in rugby history. Some of those included All Blacks John Leeson, Ponty Reid, Ian Clarke and Don Clarke. The Clarke brothers being a token Kereone legacy with the 5 brothers making up 408 appearances for Waikato and in 1961 all 5 of them playing together against Thames Valley. Brian Clarke is our current club Patron.
As the years went on times got more progressive and in 1984 Kereone became the first rugby club in the Waikato to affiliate netball teams into their rugby club. Kereone Netball had two teams and has continued to field teams ever since.
The addition of Beach Volleyball was made in 1995 with the first game played on 10 October 1995. The club applied to the MRU to use some of the carparks, which they then filled with 200 cubic metres of sand and created 3 courts. This competition has remained strong into the present day.
As with every club, we are proud of our rich history and to try and sum it all up is nearly impossible, for an in-depth look at our story take the time to check out one of our centenary books.
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About us
Kereone is your friendly local sports club with over 100 years of history. We offer rugby, netball, junior rugby and beach volleyball. Everyone is welcome, so come along or get in contact with us to see what a great environment we have to offer.
